DATE: January 16, 2024
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, City Manager
FROM: Benjamin L. Stock, City Attorney
DEPARTMENT: City Attorney
SUBJECT: ORDINANCE REPEALING AND REPLACING CHAPTER 6.04, “ANIMAL CONTROL” OF TITLE 6 TO CLARIFY EXISTING
DEFINITIONS, ENACT ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR
ANIMAL CONTROL, AND REVISE ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICE
FEES
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council introduce by title only and waive further reading of an Ordinance Repealing and Replacing Chapter 6.04, “Animal Control” of Title 6 of the Foster City Municipal Code (FCMC) to clarify existing definitions, enact additional requirements for animal control, and revise animal control service fees; and find introduction of Ordinance exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (General Rule Exemption).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Foster City, along with the 19 other cities in San Mateo County, contract with the County for the facilitation and coordination of Animal Control Services. Animal Control has been one of the longest running regional/shared services in San Mateo County. The County contracts with Peninsula Humane Society (PHS) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for animal control field and sheltering service. On June 7, 2021, the City Council adopted City Resolution No. 2021-78, which approved an Animal Control Agreement between San Mateo County and the various cities within San Mateo County for continued services. The Agreement requires, among
other things, that each City adopt and maintain animal control ordinance(s) which are substantially the same as the San Mateo County Ordinance.
The County and PHS began working with a committee of five City Attorneys from five different cities in late 2021 to update the current animal control regulations. The committee of stakeholders identified opportunities to clarify existing language, remove repetitive language, and add substantive changes to the existing ordinance, with an emphasis on increasing efficiency in enforcement, clarifying language deemed confusing, and addressing inevitable shortfalls that had emerged after years of experience and enforcement under the current Chapter 6.04 of the County Code.
The intent of the revised Chapter 6.04 is enhanced enforceability, streamlined processes, clarity in definitions, and above all else, public safety. The County worked with various cities over the last year to review and prepare amendments to the County’s Animal Control regulations. As part of the development process, a comprehensive study of other jurisdictions within California was undertaken and, in some cases, feedback was sought from those jurisdictions on how certain elements worked or did not work. The County carefully considered input from all relevant sources (including the Cities within the County) in order to draft a proposed Ordinance which reflects the interests of all stakeholders.
On December 12, 2023, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors introduced an ordinance repealing and replacing Chapter 6.04 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code containing regulations regarding animal control in unincorporated San Mateo County. The Board of Supervisors adopted the ordinance on January 9, 2024.
Staff has prepared a proposed Ordinance for Council’s consideration that is substantially the same as the San Mateo County Ordinance and would replace the existing Chapter 6.04, which governs animal licensing, vaccinations, and dangerous and vicious animal designation and prohibited conduct (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS
The following are the key provisions of the proposed Ordinance:
•Updates existing definitions to improve enforcement capabilities and remove potential areas of confusion, particularly as relates to “Dangerous” and “Vicious” animal designations within the County.
•Lowers the rabies vaccination age requirement as consistent with current State law.
•Updates language and enforcement regarding “Vicious” animals. An animal designated as “Vicious” is, in many circumstances, to be humanely euthanized. The proposed code raises the threshold for when an animal may be declared “Vicious” (and thus is to be euthanized) as is consistent with current standards and practical enforcement. For offending animals deemed a significant danger to the public, a “Vicious” animal designation is still applicable.
•Updates language and enforcement regarding “Dangerous” animals. An animal designated as “Dangerous” is one which has exhibited behavior which indicates that heightened safety requirements for the keeping of such animal are required to ensure public protection. The proposed revised Chapter 6.04 revises and clarifies the threshold for when an animal may be designated as “Dangerous.” Currently, a Dangerous animal designation remains for the life of the animal; under the proposed revisions, an owner may apply for the designation to be lifted after a period of three (3) years if it has been safely maintained under the permit, removing the need for County oversight and enforcement. The Program Manager has found that most animals deemed “Dangerous” (about 90%) do not re-offend, and that the lifting of designations for animals deemed no longer a danger to the public is consistent with other jurisdictions, as well as state recommendations under the California Food and Agriculture Code.
•Removes language indicating that an animal owner may not maintain a “Dangerous” animal in a home with a juvenile person under the age of eighteen (18). The committee could not find any other jurisdiction that had this restriction in an ordinance and is not aware of any instance in which it had actually improved public safety or in which it was enforceable. •Revises and updates the fee schedule and further clarifies the offenses for which administrative citations may be issued for violations of the Chapter.
While there are too many revisions to the existing Foster City Municipal Code Chapter
6.04 to provide a redline comparison of the existing regulations and the proposed Ordinance, there are some provisions in the City’s current Chapter 6.04 that are not included in the proposed Ordinance that are highlighted below.
1. Current FCMC section 6.04.070, subsections (F) and (H) – these various subsections prohibit certain conduct:
•Causing or Permitting an animal to enter any place of business wherein food or meat, or vegetables of any kind are kept for sale or sold for human consumption;
•Permitting a dog or cat to discharge such animal’s excreta on any public or private property other than the property of the owner of any dog or cat, if such owner, keeper or walker does not immediately thereafter remove and clean up such animal excreta from the public or private property.
2. Current FCMC Section 6.04.320 – This section prohibits the keeping of any fowl, reptile or animal which normally lives in a wild habitat and is a curiosity to the local community, whether wild or domesticated at the time of its keeping or domestic fowl.
3. Current FCMC Section 6.04.330 – This section specifies that not more than two dogs and two cats of more than six months of age, the offspring of dogs and cats of the household up to the age of six months; and other household pets which are not kept outside may be kept within the City.
4. Current FCMC Section 6.04.380 – This section specifies the requirements pertaining to a pet’s housing structure and requires, among other things, that the structure not exceed eight feet in height and be located so that its nearest point is twenty feet or more distant from any dwelling, excluding that of the permittee, except as the permit may otherwise provide. Staff has reviewed the language in current FCMC sections 6.04.070(F) and (H), and 6.04.380 and believes that these provisions are either addressed through other sections of the Municipal Code (e.g., Chapter 9.52-Property Maintenance) or other State laws or are violations that would be difficult to enforce and therefore staff does not recommend that these provisions be maintained in the City’s Code.
With regard to current FCMC sections 6.04.320 and 6.04.330, staff is recommending keeping these provisions but amending the language to specify that hives for bees are permitted in the City and any other pet that is not a prohibited animal. This new proposed language can be found in sections 6.04.400 and 6.04.410 of the proposed Ordinance. The City Council previously amended Chapter 6.04 in September, 2021 to remove beekeeping as a prohibited activity. Alternatively, the City Council could choose to adopt the County’s Chapter 6.08 regarding exotic animals by reference (Attachment 4), which defines certain types of animals such as hawks, bats, lions, etc. as an “exotic animal” and requires a permit for the keeping of said animal and revise staff’s proposed language regarding permitted animals.
The County expects that all cities in San Mateo County will adopt the proposed Ordinance in January and February and will be able to begin enforcing the new provisions by March/April, 2024.
California Environmental Quality Act
The Ordinance is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21000, et seq. and the CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code Regs. §§ 15000 et. seq.), including without limitation, Public Resources Code section 21065 and California Code of Regulations 15378 as this is not a “project” that may cause a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment and if a “project,” is exempt under the “common sense” exception (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15061(b)(3)) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this action may have a significant effect on the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact to the City in adopting the proposed Ordinance.
However, the proposed Ordinance includes updated License Fees. The fee increase will not cover the entire costs of service but will help offset some of the costs of implementing the program for each city. The County has prepared a fee analysis for each City (Attachment 2). These new fees will be incorporated into the City’s Master Fee Schedule when it is next updated but the County will be able to impose these new fees once the proposed Ordinance becomes effective.
The City budgeted $200,461 for Animal Control Services for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 and $192,817 for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Public Safety and Social Equity
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 – Proposed Ordinance
Attachment 2 – Estimated Fee Increase Analysis prepared by County Attachment 3 – Current FCMC Chapter 6.04
Attachment 4 – County Code Chapter 6.08-Exotic Animals